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Friday, February 15, 2013

End-of-week Inspiration

As a designer, I'm often asked what inspires me. (I mean, it's not like people are sitting around me in rapt attention all the time asking me to talk about myself....but I do have the occasional interview.) And I usually talk about how fashion magazines, San Francisco street style, and, well, Anthropologie have directly influenced/inspired my knitting designs. But this is a pretty narrow interpretation of "inspiration".

When I really start to think about inspiration, I'm reminded of all the random little photos I've taken of "neat stuff" since I got a phone with a camera in it -- the photos themselves aren't particularly beautiful, but I've gathered up a pretty large collection of things that have inspired me just walking down the street. They're often things I like the look of, or the color of, or the arrangement of...and something about them awakens something inside me and makes me feel the need to create. I don't think any of them have ever directly influenced a knit I've made, but I do like to look at them when I want to feel that creative spark.

Let's get geeky now and look at the word inspiration -- it comes from the Latin in- (same as our in) and spirare, to breathe. To inspire is to breathe into -- doesn't that perfectly describe the feeling you get when you see something that inspires you?

Anyway, this is all a long-winded way of saying that, just for fun, I'd like to start sharing some of the weird little things that have breathed creative life into me, starting with one of my favorites.

This is a wall outside Frida Kahlo's Blue House -- of course, there was no shortage of inspiration inside that house, but there was just something about those red flowers against that brilliant blue...

I'd love to hear or see what inspires you -- please come share it over in my Ravelry group!